Wiegand has fun in last run

FORT DODGE – Fort Madison senior Hunter Wiegand was a mile into Saturday’s Class 3A boy' state cross country run, when he realized he was out there to have a good time.
That proved to be true as he checked his heart rate halfway through and it was substantially lower than he expected. At one point about 200 yards past the 1-mile mark, he gave a peace sign to a friend he saw crowded along the route.
Wiegand finished 53 out of 135 runners with a 17:02.4. Gilbert had the top two runners and won the team title. Logan Bleich ran a 15:12.2 and Jacob Tallman ran a 15:21.9 for 2nd overall in the 3A run. Gilbert had 98 points to win the event by 16 points.
The Bloodhound senior said what he noticed different in Saturday’s run at Lakeside Golf Course in Kennedy Park Fort Dodge was that he didn’t have nerves.
“I was so nervous at districts. I had to ramp it up there and bring a strong run,” Wiegand said. “But today I didn’t feel those nerves. At about a mile, I looked down at my watch and my heart rate was 140 and that was unreasonably low. I checked again a little later and it was at 180 and, at that point, I just set a pace and had a good time.”
“I had so much fun. I feel great, and I ran fast.”

Wiegand said he made a point to track down and talk with Washington’s Parker Tschantz, who finished 18th overall with a 16:20.6 and Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett (16:23.9/21st), after the race.
“I’ve run with those guys every single meet and it’s more than just running competitors. I wanted to congratulate them on a great season. Silas and I are going to be running together next year at SCC,” Wiegand said.
His personal best for the year was a 16:38.8 at the state qualifier in Washington just over a week ago. He started Saturday’s race in box 18, which is two blocks from the outer edge, and said he had trouble getting to the inner corners.
“I thought I would get out in the first mile faster than I actually came through. Everyone here gets out so quick. And it’s kinda terrible when that happens because the entire race you end up on the outside corners because you can’t get inside and you end up running farther than the front guys,” he said.
Wet conditions required a different shoe on Saturday. Rain pelted the area overnight and almost up until racing started at 10:30 with the 3A girls. Wiegand said some of the corners were a little treacherous and coaches were telling runners to stay outside because there had been some falls.
“It was a perfect day. I felt great, my breathing was great, and I just had fun. I wasn’t nervous at all I was just ready to run and enjoy my last race in high school.
Wiegand joined Central Lee’s Aubree Bunnell and Drake Newton who ran in 2A races on Friday. Bunnell finished 30th with a 20:02.1, improving 12 spots from her 2025 performance. Newton finished 25th and had the best 2A time for a freshman. His 16:58.8 was tied for 14th best in the state by all freshmen and one 8th grader. Theo Tollakson ran a 15:48.9 for West Des Moines Dowling Catholic. The state’s fastest boys' time this year belonged to Marshalltown’s Preston Johnson who finished the 5,000 meters in 14:40.2. The fastest girl in the state this year was Evelyn Moeller of Mt. Vernon-Lisbon who finished at 17:07.5.